diumenge, 30 d’octubre de 2011

My granny is a little bit different to other grannies. She wears a funny hat. She has a menagerie of interesting pets - like bats, frogs and cats. She cooks icky soup (no fish fingers allowed at her house!) and drives a skinny car with no windows or doors, and a bushy thatch of straw on the end.

She can even make things disappear.

Why can't my granny be normal? Why can't she knit? Wear typical clothing? Travel by bus? Find a normal pet (pink bunnies are good)?
Well, she can. So she does - but will Granny be happy? Or will she be sent out of her mind with boredom?

This lively, gorgeously-illustrated book is a charming romp through witcherly fun. All about being yourself and loving others for the very same reason, our magical grandma may be a little different to most on the regular nanna scene, but she's a whole lot of fun. Who wouldn't want a granny who's a witch!?

Kids will warm to the loving relationship between granddaughter and granny. Vibrant, retro-style pictures magically complement beautifully-rhythmic text, making this book duo one to watch.

"Would you prefer to have a black, gay, or Catalan son?". That was the question asked of a participant on a TV show on Spanish TV on October 18th. In the original, the question was: "Si tuvieras un hijo, qué preferirías: que fuera homosexual, que fuera negro o que fuera catalán?" which translated means "If you had a son, which would you prefer: that he were gay, black, or that he were Catalan?"

The xenophobic question was aired on Tele 5, a channel that has also signed a manifesto against other languages in Spain other than Spanish. The text argues that the Spanish language is superior to Catalan, Basque or Galician because it can be understood by all the Spanish people. It forgets that the Spanish Constitution obliges all Spanish citizens to know Spanish, as Franco had done (Franco also forced everybody to use it,) and that all the languages are equal.

Only two weeks ago the same channel broadcast a program about Catalanophobia in Spain. The program showed some examples of the hate that many Spanish people have against the Catalan nation. The question of this article shows that Catalanophobia is rampant. It's a pity that Catalans, and other social minorities, have nobody to go to for justice when TV channels show homophobia, racism or Xenophobia/Catalanophobia. That's why we ask you to... Help Catalonia.

When thinking about how to organize your day, several thoughts come to mind. Here are the things that I do that have helped me the most:

1. Choose 2-3 things and only 2-3 things that you want to get accomplished this day. Anything that you get done beyond these items will be an added bonus.
2. Use www.google.com/calendar or choose set times in the day when you will accomplish these 2-3 things.
3. Leave yourself plenty of cushion to get done what you want to get done. If a job takes 15 minutes, then leave and hour in your day to work on that project. That way if you have interruptions or get delayed somehow, you will still be able to have plenty of time to accomplish your project or job.

On Wednesday, the Department of Education (Tarragona) received us. Miss Teresa Freixas, the boss of inspectors,received us and gave a specch. There were our inspector Carme Mas and Mr Jose Diego Vargas, the boss of Educative resources and Permanent Training. Then, the coordinator of our Project told them our project.
When we finished, all the partners wanted to do some photos with the Department representatives.

We were planning the future meetings and activities. At the end, some students from 6th level asked some questions about Catalonia to our Comenius partners. I have to say that they learn a lot of things from Catalunya (castellers, diables, pa amb tomàquet, la llengua...).

On tuesday all the teachers arrived in the school with lots of energy. We showed us the school and they tld us that it is very beautiful. We visited some classrooms and they could see our students working. After that, the Mayor of Contantí gave a speech also the Director of the school, Rosa. Then I told them some points of our Educational System and how our school works.

Halloween is a traditional celebration held on October 31st. Today, Halloween is an excuse for Halloween theme costume parties, and entertainment with horror films, haunted houses and other activities around the popular themes of ghosts, witches, Dracula, werewolves and the supernatural. Children love to dress up in halloween costumes and go from door-to-door in their neighborhood following the old tradition of trick-or-treating, collecting sweets and gifts, sometimes money. More...

divendres, 28 d’octubre de 2011

Things to teach to students of all levels about the most important kind of politeness.

Some thanking words and phrases you might want to teach to your students include the more informal examples “Thanks” and “Cheers”, and maybe even “Ta”. “Thanks” can be extended with “a lot” and “Ta” with “very much”, but “Cheers” doesn’t take any lengthening expressions like these. Like “Thank you” and “Thanks”, however, it can take “for all your help/coming all this way/lending me your umbrella etc.”
With “Thank you”, you can add “very much” or “so much”. Students are often not aware that “so” is stronger that “very much”, especially when it is stressed and lengthened, as in “Thank you sooooooooo much”. Longer and more formal phrases using the word “thank” include “I/We would like to thank you for…”, “Please accept my/our thanks for…” and “I really can’t thank you enough for…”

Possibilities without the word “thank” include “I would like to express my gratitude for…”, “I am very grateful for…” and “I really can’t express how grateful I am for…” Students may overuse forms like these because of translation from L1, or due to being taught forms that are old fashioned or only used in writing. Similar lines I have found to be overused in emailing include “Thank you for continuing to do business with us” (rare in English, and mainly used when our performance is so bad that we’d expect them not to), “Thank you for your kind attention” (a bit old-fashioned and mainly used in standard letters rather than ones written for individual people) and “Thank you for your co-operation” (mainly used in internal memos telling people about rules).

The last of those examples is often used when “Thanks in advance” would be more suitable and this and the other very specific example “Thanks anyway” are well worth some classroom time.
Students are also likely to be unfamiliar with phrases which don’t include words meaning thanks or gratitude but which mean the same thing, such as “I owe you one”, “That’s (really) very kind of you”, “You’re a lifesaver/a star”, and “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” They might also need help with uses of “thank” where thanks is not really the meaning, e.g. in “Thanks for the invitation, but…” More...

dimecres, 26 d’octubre de 2011

After the iPhone and the iPad, the iZone is a different kind of design experiment.

They're being told to find new ways to provide a more individualised education, to change the shape of the school day, explore what technology can offer and even ask whether pupils need to be in school at all.

The parent must make it a point to have a child realize that no matter how busy or how much time is spent with them, reading and school in general is important. Parents need to make sure they pay attention to homework, daily reading, and getting a good night's sleep.

TIP 2 - The parent must lead by example.

Be able to ask though questions to your parents: When is the last time the child saw YOU reading for fun? When is the last time you read to your child? What needs to be addressed here is that parents of students who are extremely successful in school have their children become successful on purpose. It is no accident that these students of active parents are statistically far more successful. It doesn't take hours a day at home to increase reading ability. Statistics show that if every child would read 15 minutes daily with their parents they will have a 45% higher chance of being more successful than the average student in school.

TIP 3 - Get OUT and GO!!

Go to the library......go to the park to read.....have a reading night! If you don't make time to do it, it won't be important to your children. Our children need to know we will pause life to go out and spend time reading or even just to make a quick stop at the library! Encourage parents to check out the movie and book to compare and contrast. Many preschoolers and elementary aged children LOVE audiobooks! Look for a matching set at your library.

My school is getting better decorated every day. Today we have been very busy hanging flags, and we haven't finished yet. I would lik to show you the Comenius Corner.

Aquesta setmana que ve fem la 1a trobada Comenius. Els països que formen part del Comenius a part de Catalunya són:
This next week we will do the 1st Comenius Meeting. The countries that take part in the project, a part from us, Catalonia, are: